Program Operations Manager- Spacecraft

Program Operations Manager Spacecraft

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

As an end-to-end responsive space company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space anywhere, anytime. Our small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles allow us to service the entire lifecycle of government and commercial missions from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. We utilize carbon composite structures, patented propulsion technologies, and common components across our vehicles to iterate quickly, improve reliability, and deliver payloads at a lower cost.

The Program Operations Manager Spacecraft is responsible for coordinating with the Program, Manufacturing Teams, and Functional Partners to ensure quality, schedule, and cost commitments are met. The POM is responsible for developing and implementing production operations strategies to ensure products are manufacturable, meet cost and throughput requirements supporting the company's growth.

The successful candidate will drive the overall management and participation in all phases of program development from capture and proposals through development, execution, and close-out.

This position will provide professionals with opportunities to grow their skills in operations management, technical operations, business communications, and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Primary interface between program and factory leadership teams; flow program priorities and requirements for production execution and collaborate cross-functionally to ensure program commitments are met throughout the product life cycle.
• Develop and own each mission Integrated Master Schedule (IMS); manage critical path, mitigate schedule risks, and ensure alignment between program schedule/contract and factory capacity.
• Flow down and monitor Operations cost and schedule performance for new development builds and deliveries through execution of New Product Introduction processes.
• Partner with Finance to establish factory budget targets per mission (tooling, material, direct and support labor); track performance, drive cost reductions, and identify margin improvement opportunities.
• Support proposal generation and contract-funded product development efforts including operational plan, resources and execution plan.
• Work with Supply Chain Management to resolve materials constraints and logistics problems; collaborate on capital strategy in support of program and factory objectives.
• Chair manufacturing readiness reviews and coordinate inputs/actions; drive adherence to quality, schedule, cost and technical mission goals.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate operational risks; maintain risk register and lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for schedule slips, cost overruns, or quality escapes.
• Define and track key operational metrics (throughput, cycle time, first-pass yield, on-time delivery); establish program scorecard dashboards for executive visibility.
• Lead, influence, and communicate across all organizational levels to coordinate activities across factories and functions, ensuring program schedule and cost objectives are achieved.

Qualifications

Required

• STEM Degree and minimum 7 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years of experience or in absence of a degree 10 years of relevant experience
• Wide-ranging Program Leadership / Manufacturing Operations experience
• Understanding of product design process
• Proven Experience in Manufacturing, Transition to Production, and Production ramp
• Self-directed leader capable of executing Change Management and handling ambiguity
• Proven experience managing budgets
• The ideal candidate will possess the demonstrated skills and experience from a technical, program, and manufacturing leadership perspective.

Desired

• Proven Experience developing complex proposals and Basis of Estimate
• Experience as a people leader; influencing cross-functionally across all departments and organizational levels (from VP to technician); demonstrated ability to build relationships, drive alignment, and achieve results through collaboration without direct authority
• Understanding of Lean Application / Six Sigma
• Experience with ERP systems and Program management tools (MS Project, Primavera P6, JIRA, or similar)
• Demonstrated success in scaling production operations from Engineering build to low-rate initial production (LRIP) to full-rate production
• Knowledge of spacecraft/satellite manufacturing processes, integration, and test operations

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, pet Insurance, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status